Bioshock

In Bioshock (X-Box 360, 2007), the player’s avatar is a plane crash survivor who has happened upon a fallen civilization of objectivists. The civilization has deteriorated because its individuals have become insane after having genetically altered themselves (for improvement). Admittedly, the art deco setting (you are surrounded by marble floors, columned rooms and art deco-esque sculptures) and the Ayn Rand/objectivism references add a level of depth to the game (i.e., it feels more “grown up” than some other games and adds a sense of intellectualism). Although somewhat dated, a 1999 survey performed by the Interactive Digital Software Association (IDSA) found that “Many entertainment software users are well-educated. Three-quarters (74%) have attended some college, earned a bachelor’s degree, and/or completed postgraduate work (Kelly Anders, “Marketing and Policy Considerations for Violent Video Games,” Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 18.2, 1999, 270). I found this figure fairly interesting because I often associate video games with immaturity, a hobby that people just “grow out of.” I’ll credit the game’s creator(s) then with raising the intellectual bar; whether or not every player understands the Ayn Rand references, I commend the creators’ attempts to incorporate sophisticated philosophy into the game.

Bioshock manages to succeed in evoking a sense of psychological fear and surprise/pop out horror: like the members of the fallen civilization, your character begins to inject himself/genetically alter himself to improve his fighting skills. Although your avatar benefits from these “plasmids,” you, as a player are aware of the fact that you are destroying your self and risking the loss of your sanity.

In one “move,” your avatar is given a blue, glowing ball/orb; as a result of the use of this ball, the avatar’s hand gets covered in pus and eventually sprouts boils/blisters that explode and shoot out pus. It is exceptionally disgusting.

Bioshock also offers some creepy villains. I found the genetically altered young girls who are guarded by large, powerful robots (whom you must defeat to reach the girls) especially disturbing. First off, they almost look like caricatures of little girls: their hair is in pigtails and they wear cute short-sleeved dresses with white aprons. Secondly, if you successfully defeat the robot and get to a girl, you are given the choice of killing her or “saving” her. This repeated moral dilemma demonstrates an attempt on the creators’ parts to add depth to the game: this decision distances Bioshock from other videogames that consist of mindless killing.